Animaland brings stuffed toys to life

MANILA, Philippines - Belinda Dy found out about Animaland when her young daughter dragged her into one of its stores during a US trip sometime in 2005.

Impressed by what the store offers, which feeds on the “create-your-own-stuffed-animal-friend” concept, she jumped on the chance to secure a franchise of her own for the Philippine market.

Through her company, Animaland Stuffery Inc., she opened the first kiosk in December 2005 at the Shangri-La Plaza in Mandaluyong, making some improvements along the way.

“We had to do certain adjustments because we thought there were still something lacking. We made a new operations manual, designed new uniforms for our staff, and basically extended our after-sales service,” she points out.

Animaland, she stresses, “is not an ordinary stuffed toy store – it’s one level higher.” The store offers customers an interactive retail experience where they can choose from a wide variety of animal designs and accessories, and personally get involved in bringing the stuffed object to “life.”

From stuffing to fluffing - including putting in a “wishing star” which serves as the toy’s heart, picking scented pellets and a sound chip — the entire process takes about 10 minutes to complete, with each stuffed creation, measuring a standard 15’ up to 24’, costing P798, minus the accessories.

In addition, Animaland has an interactive nursery and salon where customers can pick their animal friend’s hair color and style.

Each finished stuffed animal – or in some cases, dolls – comes with its own birth certificate, and taken home in an original cradle or condo box.

Dy says Animaland’s customized and hands-on approach to making stuffed toys has consistently drawn customers to their stores.

Thus, from a single kiosk, Animaland now has seven full-service company-owned stores — Shangri-La Plaza, Robinsons Place, Mall of Asia, Festival Mall, Bonifacio High Street, Trinoma and Marquee Mall.

Tapping the expertise of Francorp, a leading international franchising advisory and consulting company, Animaland Stuffery also became a key factor in assisting the growth of branches in Guam, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. As brand awareness grew, Dy’s company was also granted exclusive distributorship in Singapore and Hong Kong.

In the Philippines, Dy recently inked her first franchisee deal in Cebu, with the outlets located in Ayala Center and Parkmall.

For prospective local franchisees, Dy says they are looking at other provincial sites to extend the Animaland experience nationwide.

“We try to get to know the potential franchisees first, how committed they are to the brand,” she notes.

An Animaland franchise for a 8-10 square meter kiosk model only costs P1.5 million, inclusive of the P250 thousand franchise fee, training and other support facilities while the bigger store platform costs between P3 million to P4 million.